The Foolishness of the Flesh

Welcome guests to the family gathering, introduce yourself. Thank the band and Alvin. Thank Joe for filling in for the past two weeks. Invite guests to parlor after service.

We are hosting two events on back-to-back weekends for women:

Aspire Women’s Conference, an evening full of laughter, learning, stories & music. This is the third year that we have hosted Shine. Aspire is next Friday, September 13, from 7 to 10 pm. You can get tickets in the church office, or online at aspirewomensevents.com. I also believe they will be available at the door. Flyers are available in the foyer on the Get Connected Table.

In September, we are hosting two events on back-to-back weekends for women:Aspire Women’s Conference, an evening full of laughter, learning, stories & music. This is the third year that we have hosted Shine. This year, it will be on Friday, September 13, from 7 to 10 pm. You can get tickets in the church office, or online at aspirewomensevents.com. Flyers are available in the foyer on the Get Connected Table.

The REAL Women’s Conference will be held the following weekend, September 20 and 21, from 6-9 on Friday night, and 8:15 to 3 on Saturday. This two-day conference is intended to encourage, inspire, and equip women to shift their focus from “Why is this happening?” to “I wonder what God is working through this?” You can get more information in at getrealwithgod.com, and cards are also available on the Get Connected Table.

Tonight at 6:30 following our evening service in Miller Hall, Carol Smith will be sharing about her missions work in Russia at Adults on Mission.

This Tuesday, September 10, the church offices will be closed for our staff calendaring retreat.

Next Sunday night at 5:30 will be our bi-monthly business meeting here in the sanctuary. Members, please plan to be here next Sunday evening. One thing that we will be voting on will be whether to ordain Chuck Crisler as a deacon. VIDEO TESTIMONY.

Opening

Galatians 3:1–6 CSB

1 You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh? 4 Did you experience so much for nothing—if in fact it was for nothing? 5 So then, does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law? Or is it by believing what you heard—6 just like Abraham who believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness?

Pray

We’re nearing the halfway point through a series through the book of Galatians that we’re calling “Dear Church.” In Galatians, I believe that the Apostle Paul is writing to the churches that he founded when he and Barnabas took their first mission trip, during which they visited Antioch of Pisidia, then Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe in the Roman province of Galatia. This mission trip probably took place around 47 AD.

As we have seen so far in our series, some false teachers had come in and had started saying that in order to truly be saved, one needed to follow the Jewish law in addition to believing in Christ. Jesus alone wasn’t enough. And some of the Galatians were buying this false message, this “other gospel” that was no gospel at all.

Paul argued that following the rules doesn’t save, and as we saw in my last message, he presented and defended the doctrine of justification by faith alone. And we defined justification as “the gracious act of God by which God declares a sinner righteous solely through faith in Jesus Christ.” This definition is something we’re going to need to keep in mind throughout the rest of our study of Galatians, so I’ll most likely be bringing it up every week for a while.

This definition is something we’re going to need to keep in mind throughout the rest of our study of Galatians, so I’ll most likely be bringing it up every week for a while.

To this point in Paul’s letter, he’s been giving a little bit of an autobiography in order to make his point about justification. Now he shifts back into addressing the “Galatian Situation” directly, and he does so in kind of a harsh fashion:

Galatians 3:1 CSB

1 You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?

Paul calls the Galatians “foolish,” a word describing someone who lacks understanding. Paul uses the term twice: here and then again in verse 3. He’s not insulting their intelligence. He’s criticizing their lack of spiritual discernment. They were making choices that made no sense, and were willingly submitting to being deceived.

This is what the Judaizers had done. They had come in with a false message, one meant to deceive the Galatians, and they Galatians lacked discernment to know what was true and what wasn’t. They were, at least as far as this situation was concerned, spiritually foolish.

When Paul here asks “Who has cast a spell on you,” he’s not talking about some wizard coming in with his wand and befuddling the Galatians or anything of the sort, but that someone has come in with ill intent with a false message, intending to captivate and in some way enchant the Galatians away from a pure devotion to Christ through faith.

The “who” here in the Greek is singular, which may allude to the idea that it is the devil himself who has come in and attempted to bewitch the Galatians into legalism and self-reliance, which would thus make them ineffective.

Christian brother and sister, understand that the deceiver has no ability to take away your salvation… but if he can get you to trust in something other than the gospel of Jesus Christ, he can make your faith, your life, and your witness ineffective. This is the best he can do: he can’t keep you from heaven, but he can keep you from being useful in telling others how to find hope if he can get you to add anything to or take anything away from the gospel. This is what was happening in Galatia.

Paul’s message for the rest of chapter 3 and into chapter 4 of Galatians is to some extent a reflection on or a reminder about the message that he had first preached in Galatia. Assuming that my position is correct, and that Paul is writing to the churches that he and Barnabas founded on their first missionary journey, we must take a moment and look at parts of and 14 to understand what Paul means when he says here “before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.”

In Acts chapter 13, we find the beginnings of this missionary journey, and in verse 14, we find Paul and Barnabas in Antioch of Pisidia.

Acts 13:14–15 CSB

14 They continued their journey from Perga and reached Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, you can speak.”

Acts 13:14–16 CSB

Pisidian Antioch had enough Hebrew people (a minimum of ten Hebrew men) to have a synagogue built, and in Antioch there were apparently a good number of Jewish converts (or at least God-fearing Gentiles) who attended synagogue gatherings, as we will see in a moment. Paul and Barnabas were invited to share in the synagogue gathering.

Pisidian Antioch had enough Hebrew people (a minimum of ten Hebrew men) to have a synagogue built, and in Antioch there were apparently a good number of Jewish converts (or at least God-fearing Gentiles) who attended synagogue gatherings. Paul and Barnabas were invited to share in the synagogue gathering, and Paul speaks.

He builds a picture for those in the synagogue of Israel’s history in God’s plan of salvation from their captivity in Egypt to David. Then he clearly says to them that Jesus is the Savior that Israel has been promised:

Acts 13:23 CSB

23 “From this man’s descendants, as he promised, God brought to Israel the Savior, Jesus.

He explains Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection to them:

acts 13:28-

Acts 13:28–32 CSB

28 Though they found no grounds for the death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him killed. 29 When they had carried out all that had been written about him, they took him down from the tree and put him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and he appeared for many days to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors.

And then he explains about justification by faith in Christ:

acts 13:

Acts 13:38–39 CSB

38 Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers and sisters, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you. 39 Everyone who believes is justified through him from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses.

Following this, some trouble arose with the Jews, and Paul and Barnabas begin to focus on the Gentiles, and the message of the gospel begins to spread. People are coming to faith in Christ, and the evidence of their faith is shown in the fact that they are filled with the Holy Spirit:

acts

Acts 13:52 CSB

52 And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

In Iconium, the same thing happens. They preach the message of the Gospel in the synagogue, and people come to faith, and they stay there for a while, and God does miraculous works through them:

Acts 14:1 CSB

1 In Iconium they entered the Jewish synagogue, as usual, and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.

Acts 14:

Acts 14:3 CSB

3 So they stayed there a long time and spoke boldly for the Lord, who testified to the message of his grace by enabling them to do signs and wonders.

They leave Iconium and go to Lystra, where through Paul God miraculously heals a lame man who had never walked. The Jews from Antioch and Iconium come down and turn the people of Lystra against Paul and Barnabas, and Paul is nearly killed. They then travel to Derbe, and there made many disciples.

The point is that everywhere Paul and Barnabas went, they preached the Gospel. Even in Paul’s first message in the synagogue in Antioch, he spoke about the death and resurrection of Jesus. By the Holy Spirit, God enabled Paul and Barnabas to perform miraculous works. And God used this ministry of Paul and Barnabas to draw people to Himself and save them.

So back in , Paul’s is reminding them of when the came to faith, and how they came to faith, and whom they had placed their faith in:

Galatians 3:1 CSB

1 You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?

It has been said that “the universe of Paul’s thought revolved around the Son of God, Jesus Christ.” This is true. Paul was sold out for the Gospel, and the message of the Gospel is Jesus. Jesus really came and really lived perfectly and really died sacrificially and really rose again and really is coming again.

The message of the Gospel: Jesus Christ crucified… is not first and foremost a message about how to live, but about what God has done for us at the cross of Christ. It’s a declaration of the love of God for us, and it’s through faith that we receive that love that God poured out in Christ.

Next, Paul reminds them that it was “before [their] eyes [that] Jesus Christ was publically portrayed as crucified.” When He preached the message of the Gospel, he had vividly shared with them the truth of Jesus’ suffering and death. They had understood and believed it. What had gone wrong that they had started believing that Jesus alone was no longer enough, when they had heard and understood so clearly?

To illustrate what was going on, Paul then masterfully goes into some rapid-fire questions to prompt the Galatians to think about what was happening. We’re going to see in these questions several contrasts, and they are contrasts that we must consider for our own lives as well:

Galatians 3:2 CSB

2 I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard?

Paul asks the question that should settle the whole dispute: when had the believers in Galatia received the Spirit? This is the first time in Galatians that Paul references the Holy Spirit. But Paul’s theology of the Holy Spirit and His connection to salvation is crucial:

2 Corinthians 1:22 CSB

22 He has also put his seal on us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.

Ephesians 1:13–14 CSB

13 In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. 14 The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.

When they worked hard enough to earn His presence, or when they believed the Gospel? And the answer is assumed, because Paul was there. He knew what had happened. They hadn’t received the Spirit through doing works, but by believing the message of the Gospel.

Titus 3:4–7 CSB

4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 5 he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 6 He poured out his Spirit on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life.

Paul teaches that when we are saved through faith in Jesus, we are given the Holy Spirit, the very Person of God, to live within us and to be with us. If you belong to God through faith in Christ, then you have Him, the Holy Spirit, with you. We are given the Spirit freely when we believe the Gospel. We don’t work hard enough to obligate Him to live within us. Could you even imagine that?

Look at what Jesus said:

John 6:63 CSB

63 The Spirit is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

So what about the Galatians? They had received the Holy Spirit. But when had they? Was it when they had worked hard enough to earn His presence, or when they believed the Gospel? And the answer is assumed, because Paul was there. He knew what had happened. They hadn’t received the Spirit through doing works, but by believing the message of the Gospel.

John 6:63 CSB

63 The Spirit is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

So this first question is basically: How were you saved? By works, or by believing the Gospel?

This is how he can ask again about their foolishness, because he assumes the answer to the first question to be by believing:

They hadn’t received the Spirit through doing works, but by believing the message of the Gospel.

Galatians 3:3 CSB

3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh?

Acts 13:48 CSB

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.

Acts 13:52 CSB

52 And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

The question about their foolishness is the connection between these two questions. The first was: how were you saved? The second one is: how do you grow?

See, the Galatians were being deceived with this question of whether or not Jesus was really enough. The Judaizers were telling them that Jesus wasn’t enough: if someone were going to truly be saved by God, then they would need to submit to the entire Hebrew law, especially circumcision. Jesus was a nice start, and they needed to believe in Jesus, but they were going to need to jump through some other hoops as well.

They hadn’t received the Spirit through doing works, but by believing the message of the Gospel.

We are not only saved through faith in the Gospel, but we also grow by faith in the Gospel. This process of growth, becoming more like Jesus, is called sanctification. I mentioned it in my last message on justification.

Paul’s question is essentially this: Since God has given you His Holy Spirit, are you going to grow to be “finished” through the power of your flesh? That same flesh that wasn’t able to save you is the flesh that is going to make you complete? No, God is at work by His Spirit through the transformative message of the Gospel to make us more like Jesus:

Philippians 1:6 CSB

6 I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

However, we tend to incorrectly think like this: that once we’re saved, it’s all up to us.

This is a very seductive trap for us.

This is a very seductive trap. One that I myself tend to fall into as well. Expand on this.

Dick Kaufmann said, “Christians think that we are saved by the Gospel, but then we grow by applying biblical principles to every area of life. But we are not just saved by the Gospel, we grow by applying the Gospel to every area of life.”

While understanding and applying biblical principles to our lives is all well and good, if we are going to grow, we must never leave the saving power of Jesus behind, because it is in the Gospel that these biblical principles are given their full dimension, and only through the working of the Spirit in our lives that we will be able to consistently walk in obedience. It is a both/and: God is at work, and we walk in submission to Him as He works.

Philippians 2:13 CSB

13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.

We will not grow in our faith by simple willpower and “trying harder” in our own strength.

It’s when we submit to the work of the Spirit, reapplying the truth of Christ over and over, seeing what He has done and who we are in Him that we will start to become more like Him. Let me illustrate with an example:

John 6:63 CSB

63 The Spirit is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

Philippians 2:12–13 CSB

12 Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.

But could you imagine

But notice that our obedience is an outflowing of God’s work in our lives. It’s not that we are saved and then say, “Thanks, God… I’ll take it from here.” We need to walk in the power of the Spirit, keeping our spiritual eyes fixed on our Savior, Jesus Christ ().

Forgiveness?

So our first question is How were you saved? Our second question is How do you grow?

Paul now asks another question of the Galatians:

Galatians 3:4 CSB

4 Did you experience so much for nothing—if in fact it was for nothing?

The Greek word for “experience” here generally has a more negative connotation, which is why many English translations translate it as “suffer”. We don’t have any scriptural account of the Galatians facing the same kind of persecutions that Paul and Barnabas faced, but it is reasonable to believe that they certainly could have, given the message that Paul shared with them that we have recorded in :

Acts 14:22 CSB

22 strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”

Remember what Paul had said to the Galatians already in this letter:

Galatians 2:2 CSB

2 I went up according to a revelation and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those recognized as leaders. I wanted to be sure I was not running, and had not been running, in vain.

Galatians 2:21 CSB

21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

So here in 3:4, Paul is doubling down on this idea of something of great worth being for no purpose if righteousness could be found in any way other than faith in Jesus.

If they could be saved by keeping the law, then Jesus didn’t need to die. If they could be saved by keeping the law, then the suffering that they endured was meaningless, because they could have just followed all the rules and jumped through all the hoops and avoided the persecution.

The third question for us then is: Is there meaning in suffering for our faith?

The answer is no.

And the answer is absolutely yes. Jesus even said that this was the case in the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:10–12 CSB

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. 11 “You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. 12 Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

matthew

If our salvation could be found in just keeping the rules, then we could silently hide and just cross our t’s and dot our i’s and have our salvation and then otherwise look just like the world. But instead, our being in Christ compels us to preach the truth of the Gospel and to live out the Gospel in the day-to-day, out where the world can see it.

2 Corinthians 5:11–15 CSB

11 Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your consciences. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in outward appearance rather than in the heart. 13 For if we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If one died for all, then all died. 15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.

Jesus promised that we will suffer if we live out the message of the Gospel. But even in that suffering, we will have peace because Jesus has conquered the world:

John 16:33 CSB

33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

Paul’s final question is slightly different from the first one:

Galatians 3:5–6 CSB

5 So then, does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law? Or is it by believing what you heard—6 just like Abraham who believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness?

The big difference here is that Paul asks about what God is doing in their lives now, not how they were saved originally. Yes, we saw that Paul and Barnabas were a part of miracles that took place in the midst of the Galatians when they were there. But notice that Paul writes in the present tense: “Does God give you the Spirit (now) and work miracles among you (now)...?”

But he’s asking them if God is doing those things because they are following all the rules, or because they believe. And then, he ties this verse to where he’s going to go next, and what we will look at next week: the faith of Abraham as an example.

So our last question is this: How is God working in your life?

Closing

We’re actually going to close with this question. How is God working in your life right now? In my men’s group, we’re going through Experiencing God, and a big question that we come across constantly is are we willing to adjust our lives to what God is doing around us. This adjustment isn’t going to come because we know things about Jesus. It’s going to come because we know Jesus Himself.

God is at work in us and around us.

What’s He doing in you right now?

Salvation?

Church membership?

Confession of sin and repentance?

Invite band down. Pray.

Invite to parlor.

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